Matthew 1:18-25 Emmanuel – “God with us.” That is the great theme of Christmas. When God became man, even His infant presence brought blessing to all who beheld Him. We think of faithful Anna, ministering at the temple, and of Simeon. John the Baptist kicked in the womb when he felt the presence of Mary and of the blessed Jesus still inside her. And of course Mary was the most highly favored one of all. The characters and plots of... Read more
Revelation 21:9-27 I love playing the word association game. If someone says “Light,” then I might say “Dark.” If they say “Black,” I might say “White.” Actually, knowing me, I’ll go out of my way to find something to say other than the obvious. If you said “White,” I’d be more likely to say something like “Knight” or “Rabbit.” But I’d like to play a one-word, word association game. But when I give you this one word, I want you... Read more
Revelation 21:1-8 Initial, progressive, final. Remember that: it will help you understand how Revelation can actually be a revelation of Jesus Christ in your life. Too often, we approach St. John’s Revelation as if it were St. John’s Obfuscation. I can hear it now: “The first lesson is taken from the twenty-first chapter of The Obfuscation of St. John.” And all the people said, “Huh?!” I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it one last time: I don’t... Read more
Revelation 20:7-15 Today, on the eve of Christmas Day, when we have one eye on the 1st coming of Christ, we must always keep the other eye on His Second Coming. Revelation 20 gives us the most vivid picture of the Final Judgment anywhere in the Scriptures, and, therefore, we would do well to pay attention to this picture. Nowhere are the two paths of life, the way of the wise and the way of the fool, more clearly placed... Read more
He is not the baby-faced, Bearded Girly Man Christ of Victorian pictures: He is the visible glory of God the Father. He is the retina-dissolving sun! And He's coming to get you. Read more
2 Timothy 3:14-4:8 The lesson this morning is an interesting one because it contains verses from both chapters 3 and 4 which, in this case, means it contains elements from the lives of both St. Timothy and St. Paul. Of Timothy, Paul writes, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make... Read more
Revelation 20:1-6 Regardless of our eschatologies, one thing is certain: Jesus Christ has already begun His reign over the earth. How could it be otherwise? He crushed the skull of the Serpent at the Place of the Skull (Calvary); He defeated sin by His perfect life; He rose victorious over death in His Resurrection; and at His Ascension He was seated at the right hand of the Father where He has begun His reign. It would make no sense for... Read more
Matthew 28:11-20 Matthew 28:18-20 has rightly been called the Great Commission, for great it is. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.” Why is the Great Commission so great? Because in the Great Commission we see... Read more
Revelation 19 Do you remember the vision of Jesus that St. John had in the beginning of his revelation? It was of a Jesus whose eyes were like a flame of fire and feet like fine brass refined in a furnace; His head and hair were white as wool and snow; His voice was as the sound of many waters; and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. What was the response of St. John to this... Read more
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Christmas Day – 1 John 4:7-14
1 John 4:7-14 Merry Christmas! By now you’ve heard sermons and messages about Matthew and Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ. By now, for some of you, Christmas is pretty much over. But in reality, it’s just beginning! I seem to remember something about the 12 days of Christmas. Actually, now the calendar has shifted so that Christmas doesn’t begin on Christmas and last until Epiphany: it starts the day after Halloween and ends on Christmas. Of... Read more